Amazon’s Prime Now two-hour delivery service seems to be up and running smoothly these past couple of days, and that may or may not be due to the e-commerce giant booking taxis to send goods to customers.
But the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has made it clear that neither cabbies nor private-hire drivers are allowed to be couriers for goods without any passengers on board. Speaking to The Straits Times, an LTA spokesperson noted that taxis and private-hire cars such as those under Grab and Uber are only meant to carry passengers, and they cannot be used for the conveyance of goods.
Ah, but the loophole here is that it’s the passengers in taxis and private-hire cars who are allowed to carry the goods. ComfortDelGro confirmed to TODAY that yes, Amazon has been utilizing its cabs to send deliveries — but with one passenger on board each taxi. In other words, the rules remain unbroken.
It is unclear, however, if LTA has taken anyone to task about possible infringements.
Cabbies are of course more than willing to work with Amazon, especially since business has been slow due to the popularity of ride-hailing apps. The fact that Amazon’s reportedly paying its freelance delivery drivers $25 per hour is a sweet bonus as well.
In the first few days since Prime Now’s launch, the service faced major issues in getting orders sent to customers in the same day, much less the two-hour duration. For now, at least, the service is living up to its promise of getting goods delivered promptly.
